From Elizabeth Daingerfield Zwicky on Facebook yesterday, a chocolate cupcake for Valentine’s Day (which is also, significantly, Elizabeth’s birthday), with white frosting and a blue frosting design on top of that:

(#1)

Ah, you say a penguin, on ice, with a message of love (those hearts). Note that, thanks to me, penguins are a big thing in my family.

A penguin selecting a wardrobe, from five identical choices. The giggle is that the black and white appearance of the penguin is actually a suit that it puts on. From Wikipedia:

Black tie, sometimes known by its French name cravate noir, is a semi-formal dress code for evening events and social functions derived from British and American costume conventions of the 19th century. Traditionally worn only for events after 7 p.m., black tie is less formal than white tie but more formal than informal or business dress. In the United States, the gentlemen’s form of black tie attire is often referred to as a tuxedo.

From a little while ago, this photo of part of my front patio, featuring, in the front, two giant pots, with an Agave desmetiana and, behind it, a Hydrangea macrophylla in bloom. With attendant plastic penguins. Behind them, two deck chairs and a small table. And to the side, a cymbidium orchid in a pot, one end of a stand of these orchids, together with many geraniums and a collection of other plants in pots.

(#1)

That was then. Now the patio is completely empty, waiting for a contractor to begin work on repairing the two dry-rotted balconies above my patio. Scaffolding is soon to be erected.

A final pair of penguin collage postings on AZBlogX: 8 from larger originals, here; 9 from smaller ones, here. Brief comments on the individual collages there.

Most are gay XXX-rated, but some are merely homoerotic. Several I still find funny (though they were created five or more years ago), and some are touching in other ways. For instance, #1 in the second set, which I can reproduce here because it’s genitals-free (but sexily shirtless):